To Hide My Secret
by BGishBACK
Summary: Astrid has been abused by her father since she was little. Hiccup knows something is wrong, but she won't talk to anyone. Will he be able to get the truth before its to late? My first T story. Rated T for Child Abuse. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

"You fool! You terrible devil!" the names kept coming, kept piercing her soul. "You're a useless toad!"

Astrid stood there, her eyes watering. Her father was yelling at her viciously. He hated her, and always loved to tell her. Also, hitting her was a favorite. But what could she do?

"Git! Before I mark you again!" the voice bellowed meanly.

Astrid's eyes got wide and she ran. Half pulling herself up the stairs, she worked her way to her room. She was lucky, as he had only kicked her a few times. When he got mad like this she could be damaged so badly that she wasn't seen for weeks. He usually tried to rip her voice box from her throat. So, as the days went by, her voice had gotten higher and quieter.

She threw herself on her bed and sobbed. Why had she told him that Loose Snout was so good at flying? Why had she tried to impress him? She knew it would end this way. So what was the point?

She looked at her legs. They weren't bruised to badly. She could definitely lie about the small bruises. Yeah. No one needed to know.

…OOO…ooo…OOO…

"Hey Astrid." Hiccup walked over to her in the Meade hall. He sat down in the seat beside her.

"Hi." she smiled weakly.

"Are you ok? You're really bruised today." Hiccup asked, concerned.

_I didn't think so. _"Yeah, I'm fine. Loose Snout just got out of control last night." Astrid lied.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup sensed she was hiding something.

"Umm, he's my dragon. I should know if he acted up, shouldn't I?" Astrid asked madly.

"Alright alright." Hiccup put his hands up. "Relax."

"No, you relax!" Astrid's anger was so intense.

"Astrid-"

"Don't you 'Astrid' me!" She stood up and ran from the hall.

"Well." Hiccup said shortly. He stood up and moved to a different table. Sitting with Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff.

"Is something going on with Astrid?" asked Fishlegs, sensing Hiccup's frustration.

"I don't know." he said smartly. "She won't talk to me."

"Whoa boy." Snotlout laughed. "Calm down. Don't take your anger out on us."

"Sorry." Hiccup gritted his teeth. "She just…I'm so…you know?"

"Um…what?" Ruffnut asked sarcastically.

"That's guy for "she's pissing me off and stressing me out." I don't know why you didn't know that." Tuffnut punched Ruff's arm.

"Maybe I knew that!" Ruff yelled, jabbing her finger hard into his chest.

"Well I don't think you did!" Tuff jabbed his finger into her upper chest.

"You know I did!" she yelled back.

"Guys! Guys! Hold your dragons! Sheesh! Relax! We don't need three stressed out Vikings." Fishlegs said reasonably.

"Thank you." Hiccup looked at the fighting twins. "Seriously guys, this is my problem, not yours. So relax. Ok? I can figure this out."

"Sorry." Ruff and Tuff said at the same time.

"It's ok. Just eat." Hiccup eat a small spoonful of the terrible eel soup. "Yuk." he stuck his tongue out. "Eel soup."

"What can ya do?" Snotlout asked. "I guess just hold your nose and eat."

"At the same time? Is that even possible?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes. And the reason is because your taste buds rely on-"

"Shut up Legs." Tuffnut punched the boy's shoulder.

"Ok…" Hiccup did as he was told. The soup still tasted terrible, but it wasn't as strong.

"Told you." Snotlout said triumphantly.

_o_O_o_O_

Astrid was so afraid. She needed to go home, but her dad was there. He'd surely want to 'speak' with her as soon as she walked in the door. Her mother had been killed by him several years earlier. He blamed it on a dragon mauling her. The lies never ended.

She turned to door knob and opened the door quietly. He was standing right there, staring back at her. She gasped.

"Get in here." he said meanly. He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her in the door, slamming it shut and locking it behind him. Cracking his knuckles, he looked at her viciously. "I'm going to enjoy this." he punched her in the gut hard.

She fell to the ground with a thud. He picked her up and squeezed her arm as hard as he could. Throwing her hard on the ground, he kicked her. Several times in the chest, stomach, and face. It was very amusing to see the blood run down her swollen cheek. That was the best part, making her bleed.

The whole time Astrid cried silently, for she knew he would do worse if she made a single noise. He sat down on her stomach and punched her face several times. He never hit her hard enough to knock her out, as she wouldn't feel all the pain. He picked up her arm and started to bend it backwards. Farther and farther until snap! A sickening noise came from her body.

Her face was purple as she tried desperately not to scream. A white hot pain was in her forearm. And what's worse? It was bent the wrong way.

-O-O-

"Snotlout?" Hiccup called.

"HERE!"

"Fishlegs?"

"HERE!"

"Ruff and Tuff?"

"HERE!"

"Astrid?" Nothing. He looked up from his clipboard. She wasn't in the dragon arena. The place they had once been trained to kill dragons. "Absent?"

"Yeah. Her Dad said Loose Snout went rogue last night and broke her arm." Fishlegs informed.

"Hmm. Loose Snout is being very bad of late, isn't he?" Hiccup put the clipboard on the ground. "Alright everyone! Get on your dragons. We will be learning how to perform the barrel roll." Hiccup smiled. It was always so fun teaching them how to get their dragons to do tricks. He hopped on Toothless's back. The dragon smiled and jumped into the sky.

Fishlegs's Gronkle was acting up, refusing to fly. Snotlout's Nightmare was in the sky, flying proudly. The twins' Zippleback was flying nervously beside the Nightmare.

The wind felt amazing and warm against Hiccup's face. Flying always gave him new life. And whenever he got to teach his friends, that made it so much better. It was all so fun and relaxing. But Astrid's outburst yesterday was still in his mind. And he was worried. She needed to talk to someone, and he wanted her to talk to him. But something was holding her back. Something she wouldn't share with anyone…

"Alright crew! This is how you barrel roll." he grabbed Toothless's ears and turned the massive head, making the whole body spin. Toothless glared up at him when the rolling was over with. "Everyone got that?" the dragon sneezed and hit Hiccup's face with his ear, making a loud noise. "Ow! Toothless!" the dragon smiled smugly.

Snotlout was the first to try the roll. It ended with both himself and his dragon face first in the dirt.

"Good try Snotlout!" Hiccup called from the sky. "But I'm pretty sure the ground isn't single, so…"

Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs laughed at the joke.

"Who's next?" Hiccup asked. His amused smile was on his face. "What? No volunteers?"

"Nope!" Ruff smiled.

"Thank you for volunteering, Ruff!" Hiccup clapped.

"No. But I-"

"Just do it." her brother teased.

"Fine." She gritted her teeth and leaned forward as far as she could on the dragon. Tuff did the same. In a minute they had completed the roll, and it hadn't been to shabby. The Zippleback actually wanted to do the roll.

"Good job guys." Hiccup smiled. "Your turn Legs."

"Why does everyone call me that? I'd rather be called Fishlegs."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Come on. You're the only one who has yet to try it." at that moment Snotlout and his dragon had entered the sky again. "Then we can watch them try it again." he pointed to Snotlout.

"Oh, alright." he couldn't lean forward, so he had an easier time grabbing the Gronkle's ears. It gave him a startled look. "Come one buddy." Their experience ended like Hiccup's. Fishlegs had complete control over the little Gronkle. "Great job Fishlegs!" Hiccup clapped happily. "You were better than me and Toothless!"

"Thank you! Thank you!" he pretended to bow on the Gronkle's back.

"As if. I'm trying it again." Snotlout said smugly.

"Are you sure? It's almost lunch. We cam try again tomorrow." Hiccup smiled.

"No, I'm doing this _now_." Snotlout said forcefully.

"Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you when-" there was a loud roar from the Nightmare. It didn't listen to Snotlout's commands. It landed on the ground and shook the big Viking off. "-he shakes you off." Hiccup was shaking his head. "I told you so!"

"Thanks. Really." Snotlout said, picking himself up off the ground.

"Come on, let's just go get lunch." Hiccup said.

They formed a small group, leaving their dragons to have a free hour before catching them again. They walked happily to the Meade hall and ate a good, long lunch. Everyone was sleeping happily on the floor. Everyone, that is, accept for Hiccup.

_Something's wrong. _he thought. _Something has to be wrong._


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup walked quickly to Astrid's house. It was almost dark, and there were still dragons that liked killing people. He walked as quietly as he could, his metal ankle hidden under his boot. With the boot on, he felt normal, as if he has never lost his leg. He approached the door, knocked, stepped back and waited for the door to open.

"Hello Hiccup." the door opened and a tall man stood there.

"Hello sir. Is Astrid home? I wanted to talk to her." Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, up the stairs. Hurry, though. The Night Evils will be out soon."

"Yes sir." Hiccup walked past the man quickly and ran up the stairs. "Astrid?" he called, trying to find her room.

"Hiccup?" she called out. "Why are you here?"

Hiccup followed he sound of her voice to a small room. She was laying in her long, thin bed. He was aghast at what he saw. Her eyes were swollen and red, he broken arm wrapped up roughly. She looked miserably sore.

"Gods, what happened to you?" Hiccup asked, simply amazed at the damage done.

"Oh, you know. Loose Snout acting up." Astrid lied.

"I think we need to get you another dragon. I mean this can't keep happening to you, Astrid!" he saw the sad look on her face. "Unless it's not Loose Snout doing this to you."

"Oh no. It definitely is." Astrid gasped. Her father was glaring at her from the open door. It was a good thing Hiccup didn't see him.

"Well, as long as you're sure-''

"I'm sure." Astrid said quickly. Her dad nodded and left the doorway.

"Alright." Hiccup walked awkwardly over to her. "I need to go. I was just making sure you're ok."

"Thanks." she smiled at him.

"I'll see ya in class tomorrow?" he asked.

"I…no. I can't. Not until my arm is healed, anyway. Loose Snout could do some real damage if I do come to soon."

"Real-" Hiccup repeated to quietly for her to hear. "Alrighty then. I'll come back and check on you tomorrow…if I can?"

Astrid, missing him since their breakup, said "Sure. If you have time."

"Oh. Ok." he smiled. "See ya."

"Bye Hiccup."

He smiled one last time before turning to leave. He stopped in the doorway and looked back. "If you need to talk about _anything _come to the crater. Only me, you, and Toothless know where that is."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye." he turned and walked down the hall slowly. He came to the top of the steps and looked down. There was no need for him to be afraid. Astrid's dad wasn't going to hurt him. The man totally trusted Hiccup alone with his daughter. So…why was he feeling a sense of entering hell? He shook off the feeling and walked down the stairs.

"There you go, Hiccup." the man opened the door for him.

"Thank you sir. I may be coming back around here tomorrow, if that's ok?" Hiccup asked, not looking the man in the eye.

"Alright. I'm sure she'd like that very much." Hiccup walked out the door. "Oh, and Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me Treble."

"Treble?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah. That's my name, after all. I think you've been hanging out with Astrid enough to call me something other than 'sir.'"

"Thanks Treble. Bye."

"Bye." the door was slammed hard behind Hiccup.

"Whew." Hiccup shook his head. He took off in his fastest sprint. Something about her house had given him the chills. He didn't know what, but something wasn't right. And he was going to find out what it was.

…ooo…

"What was he asking?" Treble yelled.

"He wanted to know what happened!" Astrid replied.

"He doesn't believe the dragon did this to you! I heard it in his voice! Are you telling him anything?" Treble yelled angrily.

"No Dad! I promise! I haven't told anyone anything!" Astrid yelled, afraid.

"If he comes around here tomorrow asking the same things or trying to get you to talk again, I'll kill him."

"No Dad! Please! He doesn't know! He will never know! No one will ever know!" Astrid begged.

"If he finds out, his head'll be on a platter, staring at you for the rest of your life!"

"He won't know! No one will know! I promise Dad!"

"They better not." he slapped her purple and swollen face before leaving her.

When he was gone, she dug her face into her pillow and sobbed quietly. She loved Hiccup so much! If she were the cause of his death she could never live with herself! And if his face was staring at her for the rest of her life, that would be unbearable!

"He'll never know. He'll never know. He'll never know." she promised herself. It was the only way to keep him alive.


	3. Chapter 3

The new summer's day was warm, with the sun high in the sky and a warm wind blowing in. Hiccup sat under a tree, dozing softly. He had come to place he and Toothless had first bonded. Now, he had succeeded in receiving the thing that had been eluding him for days: sleep. Not deep sleep, but sleep all the same.

Toothless was playing in the water, trying to catch fish. There was a loud splash, and water hit Hiccup in the face, making him spit and cough. "Thank you." he said sarcastically. Toothless was to busy chasing fish to notice Hiccup at all. He sighed and stood up.

"Hi."

"Whoa!" Hiccup fell backwards, landing with a thud on his butt. "Astrid?" he looked up, scratching his head.

"Sorry about that." she reached her good hand down to help him stand up. He accepted it and she pulled him up.

"Its ok." he smiled. "So…what brings you here?"

"I need to tell you something. It's pretty important."

Hiccup's smile disappeared. "What's wrong?"

"I need to warn you. Loose Snout is being very uncontrollable. If you come over, there's a risk you would be harmed or worse." she hated lying to him, but she couldn't risk his life telling the truth.

"Oh." he sighed. He knew she was lying, and he hated it. But there had to be something really wrong if she wouldn't tell him. "Look, Astrid-"

"No, please Hiccup." she sighed.

"I know you're lying to me. I know something is wrong. I have for awhile now. Why won't you tell me?" He asked.

"Because." she admitted. "It would kill you." she bit her lip. "I'm sorry." she backed away from him. She turned and tried to run, but he grabbed her hand.

"Astrid! It wouldn't kill me."

"Let me go!" she tried weakly to pull her arm from his grip.

"Not until you tell me."

"But I don't want you killed!" she was crying now.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, Astrid! I promise!" he pulled her towards him and hugged her. "Please Astrid."

She looked into his big green eyes. There was love and caring, something she hadn't seen since her mother was alive. "Please Astrid." he asked again.

"F-f-fine." she hung her head. "I'll tell you."

"Thank you." he let her go.

"I can't." she ran as fast as she could, leaving him there staring blankly at her.

"WHY?" he yelled furiously at the sky. His fist was thrust into the air. He shook it menacingly. "WHY?" he fell to his knees and cradled his head in his hands. "Why won't she tell me?" he whispered.

Toothless noticed the display and jumped out of the water. He shook all the water off his scaled body and walked over to his boy. Hiccup was shaking he was so mad. Toothless licked the back of the boy's head playfully.

Hiccup took his head out of his hands and glared at the dragon. "Leave. Me. Alone." he said viciously.

This voice was one he had never heard from his Viking. It was one mixed with pain, fear, and anger. Extreme anger.

"Get away." Hiccup stood up, glaring at the dragon. His eyes never left Toothless's. It seemed as though he was desperately trying to scare the dragon away. Toothless felt the anguish behind the glare. He knew that something was bothering his Viking, but he only knew one way to communicate with him. A language neither had used for years.

"Wassamissinggood?" Toothless asked.

"What?" Hiccup asked, shocked the dragon remembered that he could speak dragonese.

"Wassamissinggood?" he repeated.

"Astrid esnotruthtelling." Hiccup replied.

Toothless nodded. "Hiccup istodowassa?"

"Unknowntomebrain, Toothless." Hiccup shook his head. "Unknowntomebrain."

Toothless looked down at Hiccup and licked him. Hiccup laughed and hit the snout playfully. "Stop it." he laughed.

Realizing that this was making his human happy, he continued to lick and poke his Viking until the boy was rolling on the ground laughing. Tears rolled down his face as Toothless continued to tickle him with his tongue. "S-s-s-top it…Toothless! Stop!" Hiccup laughed. Toothless gave one final lick before backing off.

"Whew." Hiccup stood up and dusted himself off. "Thanks bud. You always know how to make me feel better."

Dark heavy clouds were taking over the sky. The once warm wind was now cold and filled with ice. It hurt Hiccup's face to stand out in it. "Let's go home, buddy." Hiccup said to the dragon. Toothless nodded.

The wind grew stronger and stronger as they got closer to Berk. Soon, heavy raindrops were hitting Hiccup's and Toothless's heads. The temperature was dropping drastically. There were even times when Hiccup would've sworn ice was falling from the sky. The house was in sight, then was closer, closer, there! Hiccup turned the doorknob and pushed the heavy door open, grunting a little.

He walked in first, then held the door for Toothless. Slowly, Hiccup pried his soaked clothes off and jumped into bed. Toothless curled up beside it, waiting for Hiccup to throw his blanket onto the ground. When he didn't, Toothless nudged the boy's hand. When nothing happened, Toothless grabbed the blanket off the bed and threw it over himself as best he could. Little did he realize, Hiccup was out cold.


	4. Chapter 4

Astrid paced back and forth outside of Hiccup's house almost all night. She wanted to tell him the truth. It hurt lying to her love, but she desperately wanted to spare his life. How could she keep something so important hidden? It didn't help that she had no idea how he felt about her. Maybe she should tell him after she finds his heart?

The sun started to rise, and so did her heart beat. Faster and faster as she heard noises in the house. Hiccup always woke up with the sun. Making breakfast for himself and Stoick. Now, Astrid was going to make an unexpected visit. But, she decided, she would find his heart first.

Bringing her hand up to the door, she knocked loudly. "Hiccup?" she called quietly.

"Astrid?" she heard from the other side of the door. There was a clinking noise as the door was unlocked. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to ask you-Stoick? Where's Hiccup?" Astrid asked, surprised to see the large man awake.

"I don't know." he opened the door all the way. "I heard a loud noise, came to investigate, and Hiccup was gone! Then you knock on the door, asking for him! Did you see anything?"

"No. So he's gone? Seriously? How convenient." she said sarcastically.

"You have to help me find him. Maybe play a little investigation with me?" he asked. "My eyes are old and crappy. Maybe you could check his room for anything?"

"I'll do it!"

"Thanks." he held the door for her. "This way." he pointed towards the little bed on the other side of the room.

"Ok." she looked at the mess of bed sheets everywhere. His boots were still on the floor, but his leg was gone. "This is weird."

"What?" asked Stoick, coming over to her.

"Well, his leg is gone. But his boots are here. I wonder what-?" a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh shit."

"What?" Stoick was surprised she would use such language.

"He was kidnapped. And I think I know where he might be. Stay here, Stoick. I'll be back with Hiccup soon." Astrid ran through the house, opened the door and running as fast as she could to her own house. Treble was missing, of course. "I knew it!"

She looked for a sign that he was innocent. But all evidence pointed to him. Even though it was terrible, Astrid followed him around silently, always knowing where he was. And she thought she knew where he had taken Hiccup. "The Cave!" she yelled.

…ooo…

"Dad!" she yelled loudly into the cave.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" echoed back.

"Astrid?" a voice called. "Come in here, quick!"

Slowly, Astrid entered the dark cavern. There, at the back of the cave was Hiccup, tied to a chair. He was sitting in front of a very small fire. So small, it was freezing cold in the back of the cave and almost pitch black. "What happened to you?" she asked, as if she didn't know.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. All I know is that some man threw me into a big bag made out of weeds, or at least it felt like it. It was pitch dark in the bag and heard to breathe. He didn't talk at all, just took me out, tied me up, and put me in front of this small fire. He hasn't been here for over an hour." Hiccup informed her.

Astrid gritted her teeth. "Oh. Well, let's get you out of here before he comes back."

"Good idea." he said as she untied him.

"Now let's get out of here!" Astrid pulled him up and started to run. He ran as fast as he could after her until they reached the forest.

"STOP!" he yelled.

"Why? What's wrong?" Astrid panted. She did stop, though.

"I'm barefoot." he said.

"And you're point is?"

"I don't want to get a stick in my foot!" he complained.

"Jeeze boy. Sometimes I wonder about you." she walked over to him and put him over her shoulder like she would a rag doll.

"No! Put me down!" Hiccup yelled. She did. "Thank you."

"Can we please go now?" Astrid asked, annoyed.

"Only if we _walk._" Hiccup said menacingly.

"Fine. Alright. Whatever. Just come on!" Astrid said hurriedly.

"Ok." Hiccup walked as fast as he could while dodging every stick and stone he saw. The walk back to Berk was slow, since Hiccup constantly stubbed his toe or twisted his ankle. Astrid wanted to punch herself for forgetting to grab his boots.

"Finally." Astrid said when the village was in sight. "Can we please run the rest of the way?"

"I guess." he looked to the ground. All that was there was soft grass. No stones or anything that could hurt him. "Race ya!" he took off running as fast as he could.

"Yeah!" Astrid was actually happy. Happier than she had been in months. It was hard to believe that Hiccup didn't still love her too. She had to know. When they got to his house, she stopped him.

She grabbed his shoulder and said "Before you go in there, I have a question."

"Ok. Ask away." Hiccup replied.

"Um…I still…you know I…do you still…I can't do this." she said nervously.

"What?" asked Hiccup, thoroughly confused.

"Do you still…like…me?" Astrid asked slowly.

"Like you? What do you mean?"

"I mean…I still love you."

"What?" Hiccup's eyes were wide. His heart was jumping excitedly.

"I…still…love you." Astrid said again.

"I still…love you…too." he replied nervously. Astrid hugged him happily. Hiccup looked down at her lovingly, pursed his lips and kissed her gently. Oh how he missed the feel of her soft lips!

They stayed in this amazing trance for a while, only coming out of it when they were awakened. Stoick was making noises inside.

"I guess I better let you go." Astrid said sadly.

"Yeah. Don't need him getting upset." Hiccup smiled weakly. "I'll see you later."

"Ok. Bye." Astrid watched him walk in the house before turning towards her own. Maybe she could get away with being happy today. But deep down inside she knew that Treble would be waiting for her, wanting to harm her for what she had done that day.

..oo..00..oo..00..

"Where were you?" Treble yelled angrily.

"I was at Hiccup's." Astrid answered truthfully.

"You helped him escape!" he slapped her face hard.

"Yes! I helped him escape! I love him Dad!" she cried.

"DO NOT TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" he punched her nose, almost breaking it. "WHY DID YOU LET HIM ESCAPE?"

"I didn't want him to be killed." Astrid said softly.

"That's what you're worried about? Me killing him? I was just going to knock him out so he didn't ask you anything anymore."

"You can't do that to the chief's son. Are you trying to get yourself exposed?" Astrid asked.

"Nah. I guess I can have fun destroying you." he knocked her to the floor and kicked her in the gut. Then he stomped down on her chest. After her face was red from being choked, he let her go. "You've gotten yours. Now go to your room! And go to sleep!"


	5. Chapter 5

Astrid awoke the next day sore and worried. Her face was burning, putting her into agony. Her hand rushed to her face. It was swollen. When she tried to open her eyes, something was holding them down. Slowly, she put her fingers to her right eye. There was a large lump above it. Her fingers investigated the other eye. Same there.

Astrid looked through her slits of eyes and saw a little but of sunlight penetrating the window. She moved her broken arm, only to realize it was no longer patched up. She glanced down at it. It was swollen and purple, and very cold to the touch.

She sat up and tried to get out of the bed. Something was holding her. Ropes, it felt like, were tied around her ankles. A chill worked its way up her back. She had no idea what happened last night, and she didn't want to know. Something told her that Treble had decided to attack her face and arm, as both were severely swollen. Only she could feel her face. Her arm on the other hand…

"Mmm, ww, looo." she tried to talk. Something was covering her mouth. Her good hand flew to her mouth quickly. A bunch of tissues were packed into it.

_Oh dear Odin. _she thought. _What the hell happened to me?_

..oo..00..oo..00..

Hiccup walked slowly to Astrid's house that night. There was deep mud everywhere. Constantly, he had to pull his fake leg out of the sticky mud. Unfortunately, visiting in the rainy season was as difficult as it gets. He stopped a few inches from the door and leaned his head against it. Yes, it was cold, but yes, he could also hear something happening.

There was a thud. Something heavy had fallen on the floor. Heavy stomping echoed through the house. Something was being kicked. There was vicious yelling, but Hiccup couldn't make out what was being said. There was a desperate cry before silence. Part of his soul told him to back away and run. The other part told him to walk in and see what had just taken place. Neither side won, but both were playing a desperate game of tug-a-war. He was paralyzed. There was more heavy stomping, then the door was hit.

Hiccup gasped and backed away quickly. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew he had to go. Without a second thought he ran. Ran as fast as he could towards home. His home. Where he was safe. Where Stoick could protect him. Oh how he wanted to tell of what he had heard! But something told him no. That it was a very bad idea. That he should just keep quiet. And he listened.

..oo..00..oo..00..

"Who's ready for dragon training?" Hiccup called to the small group. No one spoke. "Are you ready to show everyone how you perfected your homework, Snotlout?"

"Yeah, sure." the Viking said nervously. Truth be told, he hadn't practiced the barrel roll at all. "Come here buddy." he mounted the dragon, and got it into the air. Hiccup and the others followed, bringing their dragons into the sky as well.

"Whenever you're ready Snotlout." Hiccup said encouragingly.

"You can do it!" Ruff said.

"Yeah!" Fishlegs commented.

"Come on Snot!" Tuff laughed.

"Alright! Alright! Shut up!" Snotlout said angrily. He took in a deep breath and grabbed the dragon's horns. He got it to fly quickly, then twisted the giant head. This time, the barrel roll actually ended with the two still in the air. "Yeah!" he yelled happily.

"Great job Snot." Hiccup clapped lightly. "Who's next?"

"HICCUP!" a voice called from the ground. Hiccup looked down and saw Gobber.

"GOBBER?" Hiccup called back.

"GET DOWN HERE! QUICK!" Gobber yelled.

Hiccup threw a nervous glance at the group as he landed Toothless. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Astrid's missing!" Gobber exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked nervously.

"I don't know! Her father just said she was gone. Has been since this morning sometime." Gobber informed.

"Did he see her go?"

"No. She just ran in the middle of the night." Gobber said.

"Oh no." Hiccup ran away from Gobber as fast as he could, leaving Toothless as well. He didn't stop until he got to Astrid's house, where he opened the door quickly and burst in. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Treble answered.

"Is she alive? Did she seriously run away?" asked Hiccup hurriedly.

"Yes. She did run. And I have no idea where she is. Are you happy now?"

"No! I can't believe she's gone! This is insane!" Hiccup exclaimed, pacing back and forth in front of Treble. He stopped and looked Treble in the eye. "If you did anything to her, so help me Thor I will get you!"

"Whoa, little man. What makes you think you can hurt me?" Treble laughed evilly. "No one can hurt me. Not even me."

Hiccup felt a wave of fear flow over him. He stood up straighter and said "I can kick you out of the village."

Treble started walking towards Hiccup. "You wouldn't do that to you're lover's father, would you boy?" he asked in an intimidating manor.

"Y-yes. I would!" Hiccup stood his ground. "I k-know something happened to her!"

"No you don't. Nothing happened. She just ran away." Treble smiled evilly at Hiccup. "Trust me."


	6. Chapter 6

"I've got you now." Treble said evilly. He had Astrid tied up and hidden in a closet. With a bandana around her mouth, she couldn't make a single noise. "This'll teach you to try and tell that boy anything!" he slapped her face. "If you make so much as a peep, you won't see food for the next week."

..oo..00..oo..00..

Hiccup paced nervously in his room. He had the curtain pulled over the length of his small room so Stoick couldn't see him. There was a possibility that there would be a hole in the floor soon. But he didn't care. He was deep in thought. _Where's Astrid? Did she actually run? But why? And why was Treble looking at me like that? _These questions would not leave his mind. So there he was, pacing and thinking.

_Where would she be? _he asked himself. _But she wouldn't've run away! But she did! _Hiccup was at war with himself. There was no winning. _She couldn't have left! Where would she go? But why wasn't she near? She always makes her presence known!_

Toothless was watching Hiccup pace, unsure of how to help the Viking this time. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he had a feeling Hiccup wouldn't even notice him. So he sat there, watching Hiccup for the longest time. Finally, he got the guts and decided to ask something.

"Hiccup, meknownsspecificthingnoright. Wassaiset?" Toothless asked. Hiccup didn't stop pacing, didn't look up, made no movement what-so-ever saying he had heard the dragon. "Hiccup! Wassamissinggood?" he tried again. Still nothing. He sighed and laid down, watching the Viking work a pale patch into the floor.

_What can I do? I have to do something! _Hiccup thought to himself. _I got it! I should ask Dad to search the house! Yeah! That'll do it! We'll have Astrid found in no time!_

_..oo..00..oo..00.._

"D-dad? Can I ask you something?" Hiccup asked nervously.

"Sure. Anything, son." Stoick laughed, then noticing the distressed look on his son's face, "What's wrong?"

"I don't think…" Hiccup took in a deep breath. "I don't think Astrid ran away."

"Then where do you think she is?" Stoick asked.

"I think Treble has her hidden. In the house." Hiccup said, swallowing hard.

"Son. I know you don't like Treble, but really. Do you honestly think he would torture Astrid?"

"Yes…no…I don't know." Hiccup hung his head. "I don't know, Dad."

"See?" Stoick patted his son's shoulder. "You need to be sure about these things. We can't just randomly walk in on someone. We need proof first."

"What happened to us being Vikings? Huh Dad?" Hiccup brought his head up, glaring at his Dad.

"I was getting to that." Stoick laughed. "It was frowned upon in our history to walk in on someone. But now, in later times, its actually quite fun to take someone by surprise. So, when do you want to search the house?"

"What? Me? Are you crazy? I was hoping for some people from the village or something!" Hiccup exclaimed nervously, thoroughly freaked out.

"Relax! Son, I was joking." Stoick looked his son in the eye. "No reason to fret. We'll get this fixed. Just don't worry."

..oo..00..oo..00..

Astrid could smell something cooking. It smelled like eel and celery…her favorite. Treble knew she liked it, so he must've been making it to torture her with the amazing odor. There was a sizzle, as the eel was being fried…a very delicious way to eat the less-than-desirable sea-worm. She wanted to get the door open. Just enough to see the food. But every time she'd move her wrists, the rope tied around them would dig deeper into her skin. Her broken arm was long since numb, and the adrenaline from what was happening long since used up. Thoughts that her arm was dead where long gone. She knew it was dead.

But all she could do was sit there and smell the food. Food wouldn't come her way for the next two days…if she was lucky. She longed for Hiccup to come save her. But she hadn't told him anything. There was hope deep down that he had told someone, anyone, about her lies. But how could she be sure?

This wasn't the first time either. The first time he did this was the day before he killed her mother. At least he didn't kill her in front of Astrid. He had the decency to not think the murder through. But now, she waited for the hours to pass. She waited for the day to come when she'd be freed from this prison.

..oo..00..oo..00..


	7. Chapter 7

Hiccup walked back and forth nervously that night. They had gathered a few very strong men from the village. Stoick, Hiccup, and the men were going to storm their way through the village, get to Astrid's house, and demand to look to house over thoroughly to try to find the girl. Hiccup had a feeling she was in the house, and he knew she didn't have much time left, so he had to find her.

"Son, relax. I doubt she'll be in there at all." Stoick said happily.

"I don't think you get it." Hiccup snapped, not looking up and not stopping the pace. "I think she is being abused, Dad! She won't talk to anyone, she comes to practice with ugly bruises…Loose Snout is acting up! I know she's lying about the dragon…she loves him to much and he knows it! I mean there is no way that Loose Snout would do all that to her, Dad!"

"Whoa, son. Calm down." Stoick put his hands on his son's shoulders comfortingly. "I think you're going a little crazy here. Abuse? I highly doubt that. And you know a dragon can't love!"

"No, you're insane!" Hiccup yelled angrily. "They _do _love! And there is no way on this damn Earth that Loose Snout would do that to Astrid!"

Stoick was silent, amazed that Hiccup had found the courage to have such an outburst of pure fury.

"And another thing! I'm sure Astrid's Dad threatened her with something! Just so she'd lie to everyone around her!"

"Those are some," he cleared his throat, "those are some pretty heavy accusations, don't you think?"

"I believe everything I just said, Dad. With all my heart." Hiccup said, slowly calming down.

"Alright." Stoick stood up straight. "We will get to the bottom of this!"

..oo..00..oo..00..

"TREBLE! OPEN THE DOOR!" Stoick pounded on it.

The big man turned to doorknob and pulled the door open. "Why, Stoick, what brings you here? And half the village I see."

"Hiccup knows you're hiding Astrid in there! And we've come to get her! Tell us where she is! Or we will burn you're house to the ground!" Stoick threatened.

"So what? It's not like it's an old, important house or anything. Dragons burned down every house I ever owned anyway!" Treble laughed. "You're wasting your time. You'll never find her."

"Oh yeah?" Stoick grabbed his arms and tied the. "How about now?" he threw the man on the ground and tied his feet up too. "Maybe now?" he punched Treble in the face. "Wanna tell me where she is yet?" he slapped Treble's face a few times. "What about now? Huh?"

"Fine! Alright!" Treble got an evil look on his feet. "Six feet wide and twelve feet under!" he laughed like an evil genius.

"You didn't! Murderer!" Hiccup ran to Treble, looking at him with meanest look he could manage.

"Maybe I did, and maybe I didn't. Have fun finding her, little man!" another evil laugh. Stoick slapped him, but the laughter continued like a waterfall, flowing from his lips.

"Go find her, Hiccup! I'll take care of Treble!" he cracked his knuckles loudly. Hiccup smiled and ran into the house. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Hiccup ran up the stairs as fast as he could. "ASTRID? ASTRID!" he called loudly. Nothing. He ran to her room and dug under her bed, in her closet, and behind everything he could find. She wasn't there. Quickly, he turned and ran down the stairs to the basement. "ASTRID!" he called again.

Still, he heard nothing and saw no movement. He dug behind and under everything he saw, slowly using up all his energy. She had to be here somewhere! Just then, an idea popped into his head. _What if she's in his room?_

Stumbling once, he cut his knee open. But he didn't notice the blood oozing down his leg. There was a huge gash in his right knee, deep and ugly. As quickly as he could, he ran to Treble's room. There were all sorts of weapons on the floor. A hammer, ax, saw, chains and rope. There were knives and screws and rocks and broken glass. The room was a hazard to anyone.

"ASTRID?" he called hopelessly. He sat down on the bed and cradled his head in his hands. For the first time since her missing, he cried. Just sat on the bed and wept. He was so afraid and worried; all the stress was getting to him! How could he not find the one thing that made his life infinitely better? How pathetic was he?

Slowly, he began to feel a new hope, like she was still alive, just waiting for him! He stood up and smiled. "I can do this." suddenly, the room went foggy. Then he couldn't see at all. But he was still conscious and standing. There was an image before him. Some poor person was locked in a closet, crying and trying to scream, trying to get someone's attention. She had managed to kick the door open a little, and was staring out at a table. Then the fogginess receded, and he could see once more. A terrible pain started forming at the back of his scull, then worked its way up, spreading to the entire area of his head. His hand flew to the top of his head, and he felt nausea wash over him.

Stumbling a bit, he walked out of the room. He had come to a conclusion…the gods had sent him a vision of where she was. This only happened when the gods felt the need to intervene, and were considered blessings and very rare occurrences.

Then, he realized what he had to look for. A room with a table and a closet, hiding something irreplaceable and incapable of being created again. Astrid was being hidden, and she would be found.


	8. Chapter 8

"Alright you idiot!" Hiccup knocked himself on the head, "Where is she?" he tried to find the table room with the closet, but it wasn't anywhere in the house. But that didn't make any sense! "She has to be in here! The gods wouldn't just send me a fowl vision!" he was silent for a moment. Something was knocking on wood somewhere. Maybe it was Astrid?

As quickly as he could, he ran towards the sound. It kept getting louder and louder until he came to a small room. There was no table in it, of course, but there was a closet and a knocking. "Astrid?" he called. The knocking became louder, almost more desperate. He saw the closet door open just a crack, and he walked over to it. Afraid of what he might see, he slowly opened the door. When he had the door fully opened he was shocked. There, on the floor, tied up like a dead doe, was Astrid.

She was pale and thinner than he last saw her. Her legs were bruised up and had dried blood on them. But the worst thing he saw was her arm. It was purple and cold to the touch. He gulped, then reached down and picked her up off the ground.

"Astrid?"

She looked at him sadly, then nodded.

"ASTRID!" he yelled happily. Slowly, he hugged her. It made her a little angry, until he pulled a thick rope from behind her. Then he untied her mouth. "There you go."

"Thank you." she whispered.

"I love _you,_ Astrid. It's a good thing I know when you lie." he tried to joke.

"Don't…even…go there." she scolded.

"Alright. Relax. Now let me get your legs untied-" he bent down and slowly undid the knot. Then he almost stood back up. But there was a sharp pain in his knee, and he fell to the ground.

"Oh no! You're hurt!" Astrid fell to her knees and hugged him.

"No…no. I'm fine." he said through gritted teeth. "It's just a little flesh wound."

"Little? Have you even seen the gash in you're knee?" Astrid scolded.

"Yes. Now let's get out of here." Hiccup slowly pulled himself up, despite the screaming pain in his knee. The way he figured it, Astrid was probably going through the same thing with her arm.

Astrid stood up and helped him, against his will, out of the house. A loud cheer arose from the crowd when the two appeared.

"THEY MADE IT!" someone yelled happily.

"I knew you could do it, son." Stoick walked over to them and said happily.

Hiccup looked around. "Where's Treble?"

"Twelve feet under." Stoick smiled happily.

"Oh, Dad, you didn't!" Hiccup smiled.

"Well, I had a little help from Gobber." Stoick turned to Astrid. "He wants to be your new father, if that's ok?"

"Gobber?" Astrid asked, shocked.

"What's wrong? Gobber rocks!" Hiccup crossed him arms.

"Nothing! You didn't let me finish!" Astrid laughed. "Now I won't tell you. Can we go see him?"

"I'm already here, Astrid." he came through the crowd. "So what do ya say? Wanna be me daughter?"

"Yes!" she ran to him and hugged him with her good arm.

"Now what's all this then?" he asked, looking at her bad arm. It hung lifelessly at her side.

"I think it's dead." she said sadly.

"Have you tried movin et?" Gobber asked. "I've seen other people's arms do the same thing, and they still have them."

"No. I'm afraid to. I can't feel it or anything." Astrid looked up at him and backed up.

"So, ask that boy over there how his 'dead arm' turned out." Gobber pointed to Hiccup.

"This happened to _you _before?" Astrid looked at him, amazed.

"Not the whole abuse thing, but my arm looked similar to yours when I was five or six. I cried a few days because I was sure it was dead. But all we did was go to the elder's and she healed it, and in a few hours, even." Hiccup said modestly.

"Can we go get it healed then?" Astrid looked back at Gobber.

"No! I thought I'd just let me new daughter suffer!" Gobber laughed. "Of course we can!"

Astrid got a relieved smile on her face. Gobber smiled down at her and held her hand, the first time anyone besides Hiccup or her mother. She truly felt loved, and by the weirdest Viking in the village.

..oo..00..oo..00..

"So, Astrid, are you ready?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know. I'm pretty bad at this, remember?"

"You can do it! Come on!" Ruff encouraged.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Astrid laughed.

"Nope. Now come on! You can get Loose Snout to do one simple barrel roll." Hiccup laughed.

"Ok. Here we go." Astrid leaned forward. "Come on Loose Snout."

The dragon took to the air as quickly as he could. Astrid grabbed two of his horns and turned his head. They did a perfect barrel roll. Everyone had gathered in the sky. They were cheering her on, asking her to do more. Astrid directed Loose Snout over to the group and smiled.

"I did it." she smiled proudly.

"And on you're second try!" Hiccup smiled. "Just ask Snotlout how his training went."

"Don't even think about it." Snotlout said angrily, his arms crossed.

"Oh relax, Snotty, I wasn't going to." Astrid laughed.

"Good job everyone!" Hiccup called. "Now, let's go get some lunch."

**Ok guys, it's up to you now. Shall I write another chapter? Or is this a good enough ending for you? And, in a few weeks shall I write a sequal? I'm leaving it up to you! Thanks for reading and enjoying! I loved you're reviews, too! They were what kept me from deleting this story all together! Thank you!**


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